Is that Phone Call From Us?
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: August 19, 2021
It’s the morning of a busy day at home and you get a call from an unknown number. You answer only to find yourself on the receiving end of a threatening message saying your Social Security benefits will stop immediately unless you provide your personal information. It happens every day to thousands of Americans. And it’s not Social Security calling.
Scammers have many ways to lure their victims into providing information and then stealing their identities. Sometimes they call under a guise of helping you complete a disability application.
Protecting your information is an important part of Social Security’s mission to secure today and tomorrow. SSA employees occasionally contact citizens by telephone for customer-service purposes. In only a few special situations, usually already known to the citizen, an SSA employee may request the citizen confirm personal information over the phone. If you do receive a call from one of our representatives, they will provide you with a telephone number and extension.
The Acting Inspector General for Social Security, Gail Stallworth Stone, urges everyone to stay vigilant of impersonation schemes and to not be afraid to hang up.
You must always remember that you’re in control. Also remember that Social Security will never do any of the following:
- Call you to demand an immediate payment.
- Demand that you pay a debt without the ability to appeal the amount you owe.
- Require a specific means of payment, such as requiring you to pay with a prepaid debit card.
- Ask you for your personal information or credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
- Threaten you with arrest or deportation.
If you receive one of these scam calls or emails, do not provide them with any information. You should:
- Hang up immediately.
- For Social Security impersonations, contact Social Security’s Office of Inspector General at https://oig.ssa.gov/report.
If you receive a notice from Social Security, please use the telephone numbers provided in the notice sent to you. You can also call 1-800-772-1213 or visit ssa.gov for how to contact Social Security. Remember that scammers try to stay a step ahead of the curve. You can do the same by protecting your information.
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Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
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Thomas F.
I received a threating call from +1 347-436-8380 claiming I was under investigation….no details..Help!
L.A.
Hi Thomas. Thanks for checking in with us. We do not usually make random calls. If anyone receives calls saying they are from Social Security, do not give out any personal information. Suspicious calls should be reported to the Office of the Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271 or online. You can also report these scams to the Federal Trade Commission through a site specific to Social Security scams, here. We hope this helps.
Loreta F.
I got a phone call from a number I didn’t recognize and when I answered there was just a bunch of noise in the background. The call came from phone # 888.605.3141.
I hung up because I didn’t recognize the # and it didn’t seem like a valid call to me
L.A.
Hi Loreta. Thanks for checking in with us. We do not usually make random calls. If anyone receives calls saying they are from Social Security, do not give out any personal information. Suspicious calls should be reported to the Office of the Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271 or online. You can also report these scams to the Federal Trade Commission through a site specific to Social Security scams, here. We hope this helps.
Norma
Just received a recorded call from “Social Security Administration” saying they were suspending my social security number because of suspected fraudulent activity and to “Press 1” to learn more. I didn’t answer the phone since the no name was attached. However, the message came from this number: 503-223-8097. I figured it was some type of scam…beware!!!
L.A.
Hi Norma. Thanks for checking in with us. We do not usually make random calls. If anyone receives calls saying they are from Social Security, do not give out any personal information. Suspicious calls should be reported to the Office of the Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271 or online. You can also report these scams to the Federal Trade Commission through a site specific to Social Security scams, here. We hope this helps.
Susan P.
I recieved a call from 424 209 8306 on 9/14/2019 a Saturday at 11am they left a message on my voice mail saying they were from social security and my ss# had been breached. Is this true? And do you call on saturdays?
joe d.
getting voice mails telling me that my ss# is being used to commit crimes and fraud. They want my ss# to varify who i am. (i won`t) they threaten to jail me and now saying my ss# has been suspended and want money. I`m tired of scammers. why cant they be caught? the guy i spoke to was indian by his accent. we deserve protection. all of our government from the idiot in white house down to local are doing nothing for the citizens of this country. all you people want is our money and vote.
JoAnn F.
Our landline phone rang today (9/13/19) ca. 1:30 pm PDT. Since my housemate picked up a call yesterday claiming that someone in our house had a terrible problem w/ her Social Security (she told him to shut up & hung up), I looked at the caller ID today & think it said “Federal Government”; the phone # calling was, I think,
866-404-1066. I did not answer the phone, & when I went to our answering machine, there was no message.
A.C.
Thanks for checking in with us, JoAnn. We do not usually make random calls. If anyone receives calls saying they are from Social Security, do not give out any personal information. Suspicious calls should be reported to the Office of the Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271 or online. You can also report these scams to the Federal Trade Commission through a site specific to Social Security scams, here. We hope this helps.
joseph w.
Just received a phone call from one of those robo callers claiming to be Social Security. I did not given them any information or did not dial that #1 number they instructed. the number was 202-631-7550.
Dudley W.
How can I unsubscribe from the SSA blog?
Joseph P.
I got a phone call from 1-855-249-4342 ext 2085620
Name Tim Kennedy on my application
Is this a Social Security Admin Staff member
A.C.
Hi, Joseph. We’re sorry, but we do not have a list of all of the possible phone numbers that Social Security uses. What we can tell you is that we do not usually make random calls. If someone calls you saying that they are from Social Security, do not give them your personal information. Instead, contact your local Social Security office or call 1-800-772-1213 to see whether we really need any information from you. We hope this helps.
Hendrik D.
Twice in the past few days I have received an unsolicited phone call claiming to be from the “Department of Social Security Administration” (not its proper name) telling me that my SS# had been deactivated because of “strange information.” I suspected fraud, hung up without pushing one to speak to an agent, but when I checked my phone, no calling number was listed.
It happened a few minute ago. This time I pressed one to be connected and got a line full of “call center hubbub.” The person answering had a sub-continent accent, did not act kindly when I challenged his authenticity, I asked for a callback number to verify, and he answered “1-2-3… “and the rest too fast for me to catch.
Add this to your tally’s. No need to call back. (BTW: what’s with all the “acting” officials? Can’t even SSA with it’s independent status be stably staffed??